Do you enjoy writing, and are you good at it? This is key. It doesn’t really matter what you like to write – if you feel at home creating blogs, short stories, medical articles, or presentations for teaching, then this could be a great career choice for you. You’ll also need excellent grammar and punctuation skills, alongside a sharp eye for detail.
Can you keep to tight deadlines? If the answer is no, then this type of work may not be for you.
Are you able to start at the beginning? You might be an expert in your field of medicine, but you’ll start by working as a trainee or junior medical writer for some time to learn your craft. You’re likely to face strong competition when applying for jobs and will need to be resilient enough to persevere if you get knocked back when trying to get your foot in the door.
Are you happy to not be personally credited? If you are providing your own words in an article for a book, newspaper column, or magazine article, this will be less of an issue. However, in other medical communication roles you’ll be providing a service for a client, which means you may not be able to display or accept individual credit for any of your work.
Can you take constructive criticism? You’ll need to take all feedback on board and adjust your work based on the opinion of someone who doesn’t have a medical background, such as a content editor or marketing manager. Medical writing and medical communications function within a commercial environment, and so the opinions of those in charge of the brand will be paramount and may not fit entirely with your idea of how your finished work would read.
This article was first published in the Career Guides Section of the Medic Footprints UK website. It has been reproduced here for the benefit of doctors contemplating a career in medical writing.
